Trails with Cuddle-Cuddle Osbon
Translator: Tsukii
Editor: Helen
Read at Watashi wa Sugoi Desu!
Chapter 025 – Fufufu, son. The Osborne Family is Actually a Count [B]
As Jusis’ eyes widened, Rean told him about reusing the trial for the Divine Knight he heard from Beryl.
The conditions were still unknown, but it was a way to be an awakener of another Divine Knight.
“W-wait! In the first place, isn’t the Ashen Knight originally enshrined in that old schoolhouse? To call another Divine Knight that has no trace whatsoever… no, is there even another Divine Knight to begin with?”
“Apparently, there are seven of them in total. What Beryl proposed is a crazy theory, but I do think it’s possible.”
“How can you say that?”
“Because I trust Beryl. Jusis and Lord Rufus are closer than us, a family, right? In that case, aren’t the feelings you have stronger than what I hold towards Beryl? Well, I’m not saying that friendship is inferior to that, though.”
The reason Rean didn’t say that friendship was superior to familial bonds was because he also considered the Schwarzer family precious in another sense.
Rean knew very well that blood ties weren’t necessary to prove one were family.
“Back to the topic, if the Divine Knight proves no good, you can just tell him directly ‘care for me, you bastard.’ Both of you are siblings after all. Since your elder brother asked something reckless of his little brother, the reverse is also true. You also want to be pampered, right?”
“But doing something like that, then the noble——”
“Didn’t you say it yourself earlier? Albarea and Jusis are different. Being pampered by Lord Rufus is Jusis’ personal desire, so it doesn’t contradict. Because of how much you treasure Lord Rufus’ teachings of noblesse oblige, didn’t you prioritize Jusis as a noble rather than Jusis as an individual?”
“……………Gh, you————”
Jusis had an astonished expression on his face, as if to say that he had never thought of it that way.
Rean’s impression of Jusis was that Jusis always maintained the resolute demeanor of a nobleman.
Since it was something done because the person in question wanted to, Rean had no intention of interfering with that.
But Rean’s discerning eye saw that demeanor beginning to crumble due to Rufus’ request and how Jusis had more personal desires.
That was why Rean told him that.
“Service ought to be rewarded. If you need justification to have him accept selfishness from a family member, you can just give him the information about Divine Knight. Even if there are ties of obligation as a noble, both sides won’t be able to refuse if there is an appropriate price, right?”
“…………I…………”
Jusis had disciplined himself with high rationality that he would never use the great power he had, the political power of the Albarea Ducal family, for his own personal gain.
Although he disciplined himself accordingly, it got in the way in some of his interactions with his family members instead.
It was both Jusis Albarea’s strength and weakness.
Therefore, Jusis was still worried.
“My brother isn’t someone I should be able to interact with so casually.”
“Even though you are family?”
“Everything about him is different to me. He has everything that the next duke should have.”
“Then you can just become a younger brother he can rely on.”
“I’m doing my best to achieve that! But it’s so far away……”
“Isn’t there the Divine Knight to make up for that? As expected, I can’t hand over Valimar, but if Jusis got another Divine Knight, you can either give it to Lord Rufus or use it yourself to help him. Err, I guess I already said that earlier. Anyway, isn’t that information a chance for Jusis to be seen as a reliable younger brother?”
“You want me to take it like alms?”
Uh~n, what a hassle.
[“Fufufu, it can’t be helped. The chains and heavy responsibilities that came with the baron and ducal family are incomparable after all. The only way to get rid of them is to achieve something on his own. However—— I think you can give an opportunity for that.”]
{“I guess it’s a match then?”}
Valimar responded to Osbon’s assist.
After listening in, Rean realized what they were trying to say.
“Alms? No way, that’s only if you win against me.”
While saying that, Rean turned his horse around.
When Jusis stopped and turned around, Rean pointed toward Thors Military Academy.
“It’s a competition. We’re going to sprint our horse now and whoever returns to the academy first wins. If I lose, the information from earlier will belong to Jusis. You can take it and give it to Lord Rufus. If I won, I’ll ask you to keep quiet about the Divine Knight.”
“Rean…………”
“You’re running away?”
“…………There’s no way I will. You actually challenged me to horsemanship.”
“I also know how to handle horses to some extent. Besides, I think there’s a good chance that I can win against the current Jusis. Do you think you can compete properly with your current mental state?”
“Hmph, there’s no need to tell me that. I’ll play along with your provocation.”
Jusis lined up next to Rean with determined eyes.
Seeing this, Rean casually activated Loa Valimar, manifested the dragon’s hand, and floated a stone on its palm.
The horse was a little agitated, but they calmed down quickly.
“I’m going to throw this stone now and the race starts the moment it hits the ground. Is that okay?”
“I don’t mind that, but stop naturally doing something outrageous.”
Upon seeing Rean already using Loa Valimar as an extension of his limbs, it was only natural for Jusis to be taken aback.
Seeing the power associated with the Divine Knight that was sung in folklore being used casually like this made it feel not as exalted.
“Let’s go. Three, two, one……!”
Rean threw the stone.
After throwing it behind randomly and hearing the sound of the stone touching the ground, the two started at the same time.
Surprisingly, it was Rean who seized the initiative.
Horses were delicate creatures and Rean thought Jusis’ beloved horse Sthral might unconsciously sense its master’s agitation and hold back, but that seemed to really be the case.
Rean’s plan was successful and he succeeded in expanding his lead.
If one weren’t used to the vibration on the horseback, they would fall off their horse in an instant.
However, Rean’s well-trained sense of balance was no way inferior to that of a race track jockey.
Jusis, on the other hand, wasn’t that calm about the match and reward that was suddenly thrown at him.
It was hard for Jusis to steal something that belonged to someone else in the first place, and he probably wouldn’t even do it if it hadn’t been his elder brother’s request.
But Jusis, who respected Rufus, couldn’t refuse him, and the fact his busy brother was waiting for his report, above all else, caused a tremor in his disciplined mind.
In addition, the incident during the field study session had left a deep shadow on Jusis’ mind.
Various emotions wavered and saturated, and what came out of it —— was a shout.
“Rean Schwarzer!”
“?!”
Jusis chased after Rean.
When Rean turned to look, the face he saw was filled with desperation, which was hard to believe had actually appeared on Jusis’s face, who always had noble demeanor —— but it also showed the most emotions Rean had ever seen from him.
“I am grateful to you!”
Jusis sprinted next to Rean.
Rean desperately grabbed the reins and followed, making sure not to miss his lead.
“It’s not a lie that I’m jealous of you, but more than that, I want to thank you! If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have known about what happened in Parm. It’s all thanks to you that we were able to resolve it. That’s what I wanted to tell you today!”
Jusis caught up, overtook, and the horses carried the two with huge gallops.
While carrying their rider’s heart’s, crying at their feet.
“But I’m the one who will win this match! I will help my elder brother. I want to be able to repay him for making me able to create my own standing in Albarea!”
“I see, but I don’t want to lose since I’m the one who suggested the match, and I hadn’t told Professor Schmidt about it yet, so I can’t afford to lose!”
“You should fix that part of yourself! The reason that we, Group B, failed to get an S rating in Parm’s field study is because of your arbitrary decision making!”
“I’m the one who will win, so it doesn’t matter!”
“You must be joking!”
“I’m always serious!”
Such was Rean Schwarzer, who seriously dragged people around him.
“I know that!”
That was why Jusis didn’t want to lose to the man who rode next to him.
The gate to the academy approached.
The one who won the battle of wills between the boys riding side by side was ——Jusis Albarea.
“Kuhaaah……”
“*Wheeze* *wheeze* *wheeze*…………”
As Rean hung his head, Jusis’ hair became wet and stuck to him by the waterfall of sweat and continued to pant for air.
Eventually, he was unable to maintain his posture and collapsed on his horse.
When it seemed like Jusis was going to fall off the horse, Sthral managed to keep his balance and carried Jusis without letting him fall.
Recognizing that figure, Rean rode up next to Jusis who was resting his face in his horse’s neck.
“Sthral, huh? Isn’t he a good horse? He’s a companion that Jusis raised with great care and not out of duty of nobleman, right? In that case, that’s the reward that Jusis won.”
“Did, you, take, pity, on, me?”
“The reason I have more leeway is because of the difference in our stamina. But it is Jusis who won the match, so Jusis should decide on what to do about the trial of Divine Knight earlier. Well then, see you tomorrow.”
“W-wa, it……………”
Jusis’ voice didn’t reach him as Rean quickly controlled his horse and left.
Jusis reached out his hand and tried to stop him, but that forceful movement broke his balance and he fell from the horse without being able to break his fall.
“Wai, Jusis?!”
As Jusis sprawled out on the ground, Paula ran up to him.
Paula saw that Jusis had ran out of stamina and after a moment of hesitation, lent her shoulder and woke him up.
“…………………Pau, la, huh.”
“What on earth did you do…… did Rean-kun get rough on you?”
“Don’t, say, non, sense. He, won’t, do, such, thing. We, just, went, horse, racing.”
“Ah~ sorry, sorry, you don’t have to speak, I’ll just lay you down in the appropriate place for now.”
Jusis seemed to have a hard time speaking and silently glared at Paula, but she didn’t care and carried him to the club room and laid him down on a random sofa.
Jusis felt he might feel asleep just like that, but he stubbornly resisted.
“To think you actually become so desperate…… so, how was the match?”
“I, won.”
“I see. I guess that’s a good thing.”
“Wh, at?”
“After all, don’t you look so happy?”
After being told, Jusis slowly brought his hand to his mouth.
But he only noticed that there was no point in hiding the looseness of his lips after Paula’s laughter echoed through the clubroom.
“I’ll call Instructor Beatrix, just in case,” said Paula as she left the club room, leaving Jusis looking up at the ceiling.
“I won, huh……………”
Suddenly, he noticed that he was clenching his fist unconsciously.
They didn’t want to lose to Rean. It was the common goal of all the members of Class VII Group B, and Jusis felt a strange sense of accomplishment.
Jusis closed his eyes as he was thinking what to do about the trial of the Divine Knight that Rean entrusted to him.
As the thread of tension was cut, the desire to sleep that he had been holding back attacked Jusis mercilessly.
The expression that Paula later commented as “Your sleeping face is unexpectedly cute,” looking like an expression of a child tired of playing.
The current Jusis had no idea that during a free day on a later date, the Albarea brothers would be seen walking side by side, and he would look as if immersed in a pleasant dream.
Author Note:
I intentionally blurred out whether or not Jusis said anything about the Divine Knight’s trial.
Since there’s no way a horse could beat a motorcycle, I had horse racing against each other.
But I think Sthral has the potential to go anywhere if he is called…
There was a time that I thought something might develop between Jusis and Paula, but then come Cold Steel III, where he suddenly went to the Millium Route out of nowhere, so Paula was stuck.
As for Club Head Lambert, my apologies… I can’t remember his speech tone.
The eye of discernment is doing a very good job. That’s the skill required to conquer that fake, fluffy Mint.
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